The girl rolled her eyes. “Just don’t present your usual arrogant self. She might be inclined to punch you in the face.”
“Like you?” He hadn’t forgotten the first time he had picked a fight with Eve. The memory made him grin.
“Exactly.”
Darren wasted no time making his way through the crowd. He didn’t offer any apologies for the incompetence of those who failed to notice a prince in time.
Then he tapped Jake on the shoulder. The boy jerked his head to the side and then paused, mid-dance.
Ella shot the prince a startled glance.
“Would you like a partner who can actually dance?” Darren gave the girl a rare smile. He knew very well its effect.
She laughed, and Jake gave the prince an irritated look. The boy knew better than to complain, but his expression clearly said he would give Darren a run for his joke in the training courts the next day. Darren welcomed him to try.
“So,” the girl said as they took their stance. One hand rested lightly on his shoulder, the other in his palm. It was a traditional dance accompanied by stringed rebecs. “What brings the palace’s most notorious prince to ask me to dance?” There was a sparkle in her amber eyes.
“I heard you want to be a knight.” Darren was surprised at his own honesty. “Is that true?”
She grinned. “Well, I wouldn’t mind being a commander, but not all of us share your luck.”
“If you were, would you pick my father’s personal regiment or the army?”
She didn’t waste any time. “Crown’s Army. Why would I want to guard when I could fight?”
Exactly. A knight serving the palace regiment was nothing more than a puppet in his opinion.
“Wow. Was that an actual smile?”
Darren tensed. “I smile.”
“But that one was real. The first one was the one you give the other girls. That look that says I’m supposed to find you irresistible.”
“So you’ve noticed?”
“Please.” She gave him a knowing look. “You make it your life’s work to be noticed. I’ve heard it from ten different people tonight that you are a prodigy.”
“Only ten?” He was grinning now. He wasn’t even paying attention to the music as he spun the girl around the room. “And nothing about my looks?”
Ella blushed. “You are handsome enough, but you know it. You don’t need to hear it from me.”
“Maybe I want to.”
“Well, you just did.” She looked embarrassed, and Darren enjoyed the fact that she didn’t try to spout flattery instead. The girl was ashamed she had complimented him, and that somehow made him like her more.
“What is your favorite weapon?”
“The sword. I know I should like archery the best because it’s what all of the other girls pick, and everyone says I won’t last against an opponent twice my size…” Ella’s expression turned defiant. “But I practice with my father’s broadsword when he’s asleep. I wager half the boys entering the School can’t manage the same.”
“Mine is the axe.” He wasn’t sure why he was just giving information freely without being asked.
“Wow.” Her tone had risen in respect. “The axe? Just one or…?”
“Two. I’m still trying to figure how to—”
“May I cut in?”
The dance had long ended, and Darren and Ella hadn’t moved. A highborn was waiting for his turn.
Darren scowled and shot the boy a look. “No. You can’t.”
Ella snickered as the boy sulked away.
“So you still want to dance with me?”
“Do you still want to dance with me?”
She didn’t say anything; she just nodded.
Two more dances came and went. Darren lost count. He was too entranced with the girl to care if he was causing a scene. He knew Priscilla was off somewhere in the crowds, glaring at the prince she fought so hard to claim. But for the first time, Darren was enjoying himself at a ball, and he wasn’t about to give all of that up to please his father and his unspoken expectations with the Langli girl.
There was another hand on his shoulder as the next dance began; Darren turned to send the fool running, only to find his brother instead. Princess Shinako was standing not far behind, in an elaborate dress of Borean silk.
“Father is furious,” the boy drawled. “You’ve monopolized this one’s time and all but ignored the rest.”
Darren’s smile was gone and his jaw was clenched. “Go away, Blayne.”
The crown prince ignored his request. “How about I steal a dance with the beautiful young woman that has stolen my little brother’s attention?” He smirked as he took Ella’s palm and pressed it to his lips. “Would you care to dance with an heir instead?”
The girl’s gaze flit from Darren to Blayne, her cheeks reddening.
Darren’s hands fisted at his side. Blayne could have the attention of any girl in the room, but he had chosen Darren’s. It was a play for power and one Darren couldn’t win. “Take her,” the boy said curtly. “She’s hardly a prize.”
The girl flinched, and Darren immediately regretted his words. He had hurt her, but he couldn’t let his brother see how much it bothered him.
When Darren met her eyes, Ella looked away. Then she smiled up at his brother. “I’ve always wanted to dance with an heir,” she said, a hard lilt to her voice.
There was a kick to his gut. The boy ground down on his teeth as his older brother shot the girl a knowing wink.
“My dear,” he said, “there is much you have been missing. Shall I show you?”
“Please.”
Neither looked back as they made their way to the center of the floor.
“Your brother isn’t very nice, is he?”
Darren turned to the princess at his right. He was thinking of how he had insulted the one girl he actually liked.
“Neither am I,” he said tightly.
“You are.” The princess was far too observant for her own good. “You didn’t mean what you said to her. You were just doing it to hurt your brother.”
Darren’s gaze shot to the princess. His brother was a fool for leaving her side.
“Would you care to dance with a non-heir?” The title gritted his mouth; he hated it, but he was mocking his brother’s earlier words. “Your highness?”
Shinako gave him a small smile. “Only if you call me Shina.”